Deck the Falls
by classydash
Summary: A Mikaelson Christmas featuring Klaroline and Kennett. (STORY ON HOLD UNTIL NOVEMBER 2013!)
1. Do They Know It's Christmas?

**Deck the Falls**

Chapter One: Do They Know It's Christmas?

* * *

Outside it was becoming a thick, winter wonderland as snow fell from the heavens in perfect, fluffy clumps, so dense it threatened to snow them in. But Caroline didn't have the time to notice, currently far too frantic over achieving her newest project, hosting the ultimate Christmas.

So what if it was at the Mikaelson's?

Still, everything had to be exact and _perfect_. Exactly perfect, or she was liable to lose it.

Regardless of her stance on whether they held the status of an official item or not - or even whether she actually _liked_ him for that matter, an arguable fact - Caroline had taken it upon herself to see this holiday through, determined to make it one for the Mikaelson record books. She'd picked up on the strange sense that he (a generic male term that as of late seemed to be referencing a certain hybrid more often than not) hadn't had very many happy holidays, and it was a revelation that cut sharply at her heart.

Perhaps that explained it all.

Her obsession with getting everything just right; she'd fallen into her old ways, reverting back to that neurotically obsessive self in her steadfast conviction to pull these Yule-time celebrations off immaculately …

Well, it was either that or drive everyone suicidally mad in the process.

Or so claimed Kol, who certainly hadn't been shy about letting his opinions be heard; incessantly making degrading comments in regards to her Nazi-like reign of - as he'd bah humbug-inly dubbed it - _the holiday fucking cheer parade. S_uch as the one he launched now, from where he arrogantly sat on that damned leather couch, stubborn in his refusal to lift a finger in lieu of her demands. "What if we splashed blood on the walls? That would be festive, no?" He grinned impishly, as though entertained by her irritation, and watched her with a wicked look, one that resulted in her issuing him a death glare and pointing aggressively with her pen.

If only it were one of those bespelled daggers … Caroline could only wistfully wish; well that and offer up a snarky demand. "Don't even think about taking any of this down when I leave the room," she spat, having caught onto his obnoxious plan. It was so obvious, given the looks he constantly tossed her way. The guy really had to start being more original (and yes, she did spare the brainwave to consider the irony in that) when it came to his particular brand of driving everyone mad. The idiot liked nothing more than to get under everyone's nerves.

Well, not at her Christmas party, he wasn't!

Which was why she defiantly stood up to him, feeling both a strange sort of power and protection in being the apple of Nik's eye; it was his house, after all, and he'd already given her the go ahead. "Now learn how to be useful and start stringing some popcorn."

* * *

_She has got to be kidding._

Kol stared at the baby freaking vampire with raw, untamed shock, like he couldn't quite comprehend her obvious delusions in ordering him around.

There was no way in the history of this damn forsaken planet that blondie here could honestly think herself among the high and mighty few who could tell him what to do and actually get away with their livers intact. Even his siblings rarely fell within the very limited range of such a category! Knuckles curling, fisting frustration as his dark, somber gaze flickered across the attractive – if you were into that kind of neurotic freak thing – features of the woman his brother had unfortunately laid dibs on, he growled in irritation, thinking how unfortunate it was that his brother had deemed this shrew worthy of existing. Though he truly had no desire to challenge those ridiculous claims, he loathed the woman and her incessant rambling so much that to his reckoning, any other woman would have been more aptly suited.

"You better be putting out for my brother there, Darling, or I will quickly lose all patience to tolerate your incessant babble," Kol cockily got out, waving his hand through the air, radiating arrogance as he swooped his head to deliver the sort of sickly sweet smirk that was as killer as his glare – cold and sharp and devoid of any emotional attachment. Unless, of course, one counted utter and complete annoyance, for that was an expression that riddled his features currently ruthless. "You _have_ opened those legs for him, haven't you, pet?" Kol arched a brow and slammed his point home with a cunning look; like he was onto her. "I mean, you did spend the night."

Caroline looked about ready to kill Kol, mentally strangling those last words out of his mouth with her bare hands, but knew better than to actually attempt it. Thank god Bonnie held the power to shut him up – Caroline just wished she'd chose to attain that goal by lieu of magically stitching those cheeky damn lips together. But still, these thoughts officially marked the first time Caroline had been grateful of _anything_ to do regarding Kol and her bestest best friend on the whole wide planet (who as it turned out, she just so happened to be quite possessive over.) This attitude, of course, only worked to subliminally suggest she held more in common with Klaus than Caroline was currently prepared to admit, and thus quite happily flew in the face of ultimate ignorance.

Just as she remained blissfully unconcerned with the fact that she technically had, willingly at that, bunkered down at the Mikaelson mansion, with the excuse that she'd been too weary to make the trip home - and there was still so much to be done in order to achieve perfection!

Now if only his hybrids would listen!

"No! No! No! That's _still _not right." Caroline chided with an unimpressed cluck of the tongue, abandoning Kol to his devices, her face immediately scrunching up in a further extension of this extreme distaste, horrified by what she saw. The whole look was further accentuated by the rapid tapping of her pen against the clipboard, both clutched with a white-knuckled intensity. "More to the left - No, ugh - Your _other_ left."

This was hopeless.

Utterly hopeless.

Couldn't he find better help?

With a huff, Caroline abandoned the sire-bonded buffoons to seize on the next pair of worthless Christmas helpers, who were making an atrocity of the garland wrapped down the curved stairs. "Red!? Why are they red!? I said I wanted _white_. It's classy, like a winter wonderland."And didn't remind her of blood, or so implied the frustrated undertones woven within her shrill timbre.

They didn't even seem to listen to her, but continued to coil the wrong colored lights into the garland before at last giving the flippant response that they were simply doing as they were told, as if trying to make her go away. _Told_!? "Oh and just who _told_ you to do this?" Caroline snapped, irked, but not so much as she was by the chipper answer that came not from the hybrids but from Rebekah, who'd cockily appeared at the top of the stairs. "I did," she claimed, all haughty and proud with her elbows pointing out from jutting hips and a cutting smirk to boot.

"I happen to live here, and last time I checked, you don't." With an elevated eyebrow that seemed to taunt her status as the bitchiest blonde on campus, Rebekah continued to challenge Caroline to contest this authority, egging her on with the sickliest sweet of smiles, of which was fake to the core.

_Ugh_! Raging with the desire to take the other blonde bombshell on, Caroline was forced to rely on her enormous level of control - and it did take all of it - to suppress that irrational desire to choke Rebekah _and _keep her foot from childishly stamping at the injustice, redirecting instead that boiling anger into a simple, if sinister, scowl.

Caroline knew, from her brief stint in Klaus's body, that strong as she liked to think herself, she desperately lacked the gum-shoe to take on an Original.

How very unfortunate.

Which left only one alternative, and she found _him_ in his drawing room. "Oh-_Saint_-Nik," Caroline called out; her newest nickname for him expelled on a frustrated huff of breath as she appeared in the doorway, one shoulder reclined against the frame while addressing him with a proper pout. "They won't listen to me -" She'd meant to fall into a long tangent of complaints and yet found herself distracted – mesmerized even – by the actions of his inner artist, caught off guard by how … at peace he looked.

Not to mention _gorgeous_, but she was conveniently ignoring that fact.

Hah. Try _always_ ignoring that fact.

Until he stopped, half turning with that devilishly bemused grin - the one that always made her want to throw things at him (it was far less troubling on the nerves than admitting he was right, or in the least bit sexy.) "My, my, look at you, love." He brandished his eyebrows playfully and winked as he dotted the air with his paintbrush. "Being all dictatorial. It's a ravishing look for you."

She wanted to stamp her foot and sigh, like always when dealing with him but there he was, all covered in paint and grinning foolishly like an elated child. God, how did she go on resisting that? It should have been impossible.

Clipboard clutched to her chest, as though in pathetic defense, Caroline couldn't help but fall victim to the curiosity that clipped away at the core of her frustrations, and rather than pitch the fit she'd meant to, she tilted her head to one side and quipped a comment that was strangely earnest. "What are you working on?" It was so hard to be concrete against this side of him; he seemed so… _human_ when he painted.

However, his lover-in-denial was nothing if not the Queen of stubborn and wouldn't be so easily perturbed from her feverish mission of achieving the perfect holiday, and so naturally she reverted back to the original objective, shaking off the throbbing fascination with a prominent eye-roll before he could so much as explain.

"Don't you have _any_ reliable help?" She refused to call them minions – even if she was of a mind to boss them around, ever unabashed at being the ultimate hypocrite. Caroline held up her clipboard, waving it around as if this emphasized just how much was left on it. "There is still so much to do!" She exclaimed, afraid to admit it was only because she wanted – needed – this to be perfect.

"Sweetheart," he began while returning to his work, "Unless I'm on that list of things you _need_ to _do_, I'm afraid I'm currently preoccupied."

And he was, with finishing this gift for her.

Meanwhile, back on the main floor of the manor, Kol waited until he heard Caroline's heels halt outside of Klaus's drawing room – no doubt to jump his brother's bones, content to label her an insatiable wench – before he vaulted out of the chair as though he'd been waiting for this very moment.

Ready to do exactly what she'd requested he _not_ do, if only because it would further piss her off.

It was irrelevant to Kol that this would, undoubtedly, vex Nik – but he lived for irritating his siblings, especially his half-brother. Besides, fur-ball deserved it, for making them put up with blondie's frivolous insanity. She was driving him bonkers!

And Kol wouldn't be Kol if he wasn't conceited enough to believe that this was the _very _reason Klaus chose her. To drive him mad, because in Kol's verse, the whole freaking world revolved around him. Why else do you think he was constantly egging on others for the pure sake of his own fucking entertainment – regardless of what negative consequences this goading resulted in causing?

So long as it didn't affect him, he didn't give a hooker's hoot about it.

Unfortunately, blondie's plans to bulldoze the manor in her Christmas fucking cheer directly involved him. Kol hadn't thought it was still possible to get headaches, but all this freaking la-de-da ho-ho-ho happy fucking holiday cheer music was just too much. If he heard another damn _sleigh bells are ringing_, or _oh holy night,_ he was seriously going to kill something.

Preferably that annoying Barbie vampire his maddened half-brother strangely desired to keep around, and frankly it was quite the tempting thought. Too bad Klausy-pants would pull out the daggers again if he tried.

Then, of course, there was Bonnie.

Who seemed to appear now as though conjured by the very thought. Or maybe it was his naughty behavior (of tearing down a particularly tacky decoration) that materialized her behind him. Her timing was so immaculately inconvenient that he was beginning to swear she'd cast some sort of bizarre witchy spell on him.

One that gave her warning whenever he was (or was close to) misbehaving. "Bonnie," Kol greeted, attempting to cut the tone of sheer surprise out of the guiltily rushed salutation.

"Kol, you better not be doing what I think you're doing." Bonnie wasted no time in cutting straight to the chase, the infliction in her tone denoting that she was not exactly impressed. Try_very_ unimpressed.

The witch certainly had an unusual knack for catching him in the act.

Yet, of course, Kol refused to acknowledge the fact that this was more likely due to just how often he engaged in activities he shouldn't. At least he'd done remarkably well at keeping it in his pants around other women. That was certainly a new development in his personality, and one that again made him ponder just what she'd done to bewitch him so.

Or at least he would have been thinking that had her stern look not made him revert to the childish action of trying to sweep the guilt under the rug, like he wasn't doing just that, by lieu of awkwardly straightening the big, disgustingly ugly silver belled bow. "What? I was just fixing it." Yeah right. But that didn't stop Kol from haughtily shouldering it as his bulletproof excuse, eyebrows quirked in a manner that suggested he held no regrets over his actions, only to smirk smugly – as though he thought himself already in the clear.

Then again, he was that cocky.

"Kol!" She stated sternly, and alas, didn't quite look like she was buying it. "We've been over this."

So Kol, with all the mellow drama in the world, rolled his eyes and sighed a bitterly reluctant fine. "Yes, yes, fine," he muttered, throat catching as he cleared it before giving her a hot once-over, eyes gleaming knowingly with amusement at the lusty response she couldn't quite hide from him.

"You've really got to do something about that … friend of yours." His lips twisted into a snarl, barely managing to be this civil as he abandoned the silver ribbon, freeing up his hands to ensnare her expertly by the waist and tugging his bonny witch possessively closer. "Before I do."

It didn't – predictably – go over well with Bonnie, his threat, her outrage having actually begun to create a gale inside, before he rolled his eyes and yet again gave into the little witch.

But if one looked at it from his perspective, a nice little indoor storm would get those god awful decorations down faster than he could.

Believe it or not, Kol actually thought this quite generous of him, vain enough to take the highly selfish perspective that he was being quite considerate flashing the threat to her friend, since y'know, it provided fair warning and all.

He could have just killed the insufferable baby vampire, Klaus or no Klaus.

He really was that unpredictable.

* * *

**AUTHORS' NOTE**: We realize it's a little early for this, but we couldn't help ourselves. Gotta get that Christmas cheer a-flowing! Besides, we were quite anxious to get this first installment out to you, if only to liven your holidays up. So, anyway, what did you think? Do you like it and want us to continue? We'd love to hear from you guys!


	2. What Christmas Means To Me

**Deck the Falls**

Chapter Two: What Christmas Means To Me

* * *

Caroline, he realized, was a whirlwind of obsessive, neurotic tendencies he couldn't help but chuckle at as he stood before the canvas he'd chosen in a bid to win the fair Ms. Forbes over with his display of artistic genius. But it was to be expected of Ms. Mystic Falls, as she constantly reminded him. As soon as she took up the mantle of organizer, the bubbly persona she often displayed in the face of his possessive adoration was quick to disappear under the guise of determination and just as quickly to be replaced by the forceful nature of a hurricane. One stood to lose a great deal when they failed to accede to her wishes, and Klaus was resolute in his arrogant belief that such a fate did not await him, regardless of how often she threatened it.

"Klaus." How she managed to elicit such a heated response from him for merely uttering his name in that prim and proper tone she commandeered whenever she saw fit to persuade him to her cause, which was unsurprisingly frequent given her need to be in control, he hadn't the faintest idea – but she did it without hesitation or preamble, succeeding in that which too few had ever dared to try. "You have to do _something _about them." Who? "Your hybrids," she hastened to clarify, as though sensing his distraction.

Impossible, or so it should have been, for he'd become quite adept over the years at concealing the true depth of his emotions.

Lips quirked in emphasis of the amusement he experienced upon detecting that commanding note in her otherwise compelling voice – she really was in fine form tonight – he turned to the table by his side which held an assortment of jars and casually dipped his brush into the nearest one, taking great pleasure in glimpsing the flare of irritation in her intent gaze, partially masked by the desire she couldn't completely hide from him.

His poor sweetheart, forever forced to acknowledge the intense attraction simmering between them.

"What exactly are you proposing?" He murmured, facing away from her as he skeptically eyed the canvas he'd spent the better part of the afternoon utilizing to his benefit. "Are they deliberately ignoring you, love?" He inquired, absent-minded as he considered the piece. A difficult venture to focus on, what with her presence but feet away, sure to drive him to insanity with her appealing scent alone.

"They don't take direction very well," Caroline snapped, her fingers tightening on the clipboard as she promptly contemplated the notion of throwing it at the back of his head. It wouldn't necessarily cause damage, but at least it would get his attention! She certainly didn't have time to brandy words back and forth with him. "They're programmed to obey you, aren't they? Well, make them listen!"

Eyebrow arched rather high at her slightly insulting condensation of what the sire-bond entailed, Klaus glanced askance at her while the soft bristles of his favorite, most used brush glided along the canvas, creating hard lines and curvatures of his chosen subject to gift, as though they had a mind of their own. He wouldn't be surprised if they did. "You could say that." He shrugged it off, frankly enjoying the sight of her standing before him in all her haughty glory. It was a beautiful sight she presented, one he could stare at all day if given the opportunity to. Unfortunately, the young vampire rarely stayed in one place for long and predictably instead of accepting his decision to remain uninvolved, she opted to bound across the room in a fit of pique, pointing an accusing finger at him as she wasted little time in scolding him for his unconcern.

"I'm in charge of overseeing the decorations and to make sure everything takes off without a hitch, but I can't do that if your lousy help refuses to heed the most basic of orders! Not to mention Kol, who seems to get a kick out of making everything more difficult. You should really learn to reign in that brother of yours, Klaus. And another thing!" Eyes narrowed as she jabbed her finger into his chest, noting the muscular contours even as she struggled to ignore them, Caroline slapped her clipboard against his arm, a scowl dancing across features he had a tendency to compliment on a daily basis – not that she was complaining, mind you. It wasn't often that she was told she had a light that deserved to shine for all of eternity. Subtlety definitely was not his forte. "I'm not doing this for me! I'm doing this for you and _them_, because Christmas is supposed to be a magical time, and nothing will get done if they don't -" Before she could finish her tirade, however, she was swiftly and, dare she admit, cunningly diverted by the skillful lips that all of a sudden descended onto hers, effectively silencing her, eliciting her participation with nothing more than a flick of a tongue. Without a thought to the consequences of giving in, she dropped her clipboard and lifted her arms to slip them around his neck, nimble fingers tugging on the short, curly strands of his silk-enriched sandy brown hair as she settled into a rhythm as old as time itself.

Klaus groaned softly against her lips as her unique taste exploded in his mouth, his craving for her amplifying in that moment. It was a delicious taste he desired to drown in, but only as long as she voluntarily adopted the role of his life preserver, for he was beginning to suspect she held sway over his very existence as no one had before her. As soon as that thought began to formulate, strengthening with her every movement – he was caught in a thick web of her own making – he pulled back slightly to peer down into her upturned face. "You taste divine," he said honestly, a certain gruffness to his tenor that hinted at his ever present desire.

"And you cheated," she returned, huskiness vibrating in her tone as she leveled upon him a forced look of reproach.

He cracked a delighted grin at that. "A man has no choice but to practice guile in your presence, love, lest he lose himself to your delectably autocratic nature."

With a huff, she bent to retrieve her discarded clipboard and gave it a tap, stubborn enough not to allow his wit or guile to sidetrack her. "So, what are you going to do about our problem?"

"_Our_ problem?" Paintbrush still in hand, he cast her a slightly disgruntled look when he realized some of the paint had found its way onto his beige, form-fitting shirt, tailored to perfection; just as he made certain everything he wore was.

"Yes, _our,_" she stressed with a pursing of her lips. "You're the head honcho, so clearly this is as much your problem as it is mine."

Her logic baffled him.

Slowly setting aside the brush in favor of the list she all but shoved under his nose in an effort to gain his attention, as though she didn't have it already – preposterous – Klaus averted his gaze to the paper, quickly perusing the items listed if only to glean exactly what it was he was up against. "Family portrait?" He blinked in surprise, but then his lips twitched, amused at the thought of coercing Kol into a Christmas sweater – no doubt under the threat of some horrendous torture, such as being locked in a room with Caroline and her sometimes ridiculous orders, of which he would have no choice but to obey, or face the wrath of her fierce protector.

Hands planted on attractively jutting hips, she glared, daring him to make a mockery of her list. She'd worked damned hard on it! As far as she saw it, it deserved the respect due its creator. "Don't give me that look." He positively exuded conceit, the arrogant hybrid. "Family portraits are important! And besides, what's Christmas without the matching duds to make it complete?"

"A relatively tolerable one?" He offered a chuckle at her arch look, well aware of the driving force behind her need to make everything perfect. Regardless of what people generally assumed about him, he wasn't so oblivious or concerned with his own affairs not to immediately pick up on her near-desperation in the art of holiday cheer. And with his instantaneous detection of her need for perfection, another thought struck with all the grace of a semi-truck skidding on an iced over road. He would do everything within his power to ensure _her_ Christmas experience was perfect. Never mind the fact that he himself had very little experience to go on.

"What would you have me do?" He murmured lightly, the change of subject sudden but no less welcome in the face of her irritation, shifting to grace those beautiful, enticing hips of hers with a mindful, rousing embrace meant to spark her interest, giving them a gentle squeeze.

"Uh." She shook her head, all of her attention fixated on the way his hands felt cupping her hips, their warmth all but branding her through her clothes, to the point that for a second she forgot everything else, even the current topic of their conversation. _What were we talking about again? … Ah, right! Kol. And hybrids. And discipline or something along those lines_. "Fix things," she answered quickly, placing her hands over his and delighting in the way he allowed it. Klaus wasn't above flaunting his status as the Alpha male when he wanted something, but he was also quite good about granting her control when the situation warranted it. Not always, of course, but enough to strike at her heart. It was good to know that not every occasion would result in a battle of wills.

"As you wish." A wicked smirk grazed his lips as he took her hand in his and brought her knuckles to his lips to press a soft kiss there. Then, with one last glance at his unfinished painting – it might be better to work on it when the manor wasn't bustling with so much activity – he escorted her from the room and guided her along the elegantly decorated hallway. Green wreaths strung with silver and gold adorned the walls, sparkling in the fluorescent lights. But as they began to descend the staircase, he took note of the strangest occurrence. In the midst of garland, popcorn kernels, and stencil stood Kol, sporting a dark scowl that was as likely to frighten the maids as it was to attract them, depending on the maid-in-question.

"Hey, you offered to help." At the sound of Bonnie Bennett's laughter, Klaus exchanged a curiously amused look with Caroline. "No one asked you to roll around in them."

The rigid way his younger half-brother held himself was proof enough that what had happened here had nothing to do with his choice or will and everything to do with the stupidity of permitting a witch into his life. "If you hadn't blasted me across the room for chucking a box of those ghastly ornaments at that bastard's head, then none of this would have happened in the first place, and we'd be happily rolling around in all this stencil _together_."

Klaus briefly wondered how he could have possibly missed that, especially considering the fact that the Bennett witch's temper tantrums had a tendency to be loud and destructive when given full reign. Then again, Caroline was quite the distraction. Was it any wonder that he hardly knew what was going on in his own home when she was within touching distance?

"Those _ghastly ornaments_, as you call them, cost a fortune!" Bonnie retorted hotly, not at all afraid to stand firm against Kol's unpredictable nature. If she had been anyone else, though, it was highly likely that she would have lost her head by this point, or her liver – or perhaps both. "You honestly think I'd let you waste them on some stupid juvenile whim?"

"Do you honestly think I won't find something else to throw?" He snapped back, a possessive quality about his otherwise smooth baritone. "There are consequences to being an idiot, and I'm more than willing to provide him with a lesson on how to properly score a home-run – if I use his face as my preferred choice in baseball, of course."

"You're overreacting, Kol." Frowning, Bonnie moved to where she'd left another box of ornaments by one of the half-decorated Christmas trees. "Learn to let things go, and you'll be all the happier for it."

"You haven't even begun to see me overreacting!"

"Oooookay," Caroline interjected, dragging out the syllable as she strode toward Bonnie, leaving Klaus on the bottom step, his heated gaze locked upon her back. "Enough of that. So … who's hungry?!"

Klaus smirked. _That's my girl_.

* * *

**AUTHORS' NOTE**: We welcome any and all comments, concerns, and the like, so don't be afraid to click that review button! And before we forget, you guys are absolutely fantastic for taking the time to read this story to begin with. We couldn't have asked for better readers! Thank you, guys. Seriously.


	3. Monsters' Holiday

**Deck the Falls**

Chapter Three: Monsters' Holiday

* * *

"But _Bonnie,_" Kol hissed with the note of disdain shading his tone, an elaborate hue of dark and loathsome. Yet before he could get another word out, there was that rubbish interruption — by none other than that blonde strumpet he liked to call the Xmas-Nazi Queen and her irksome on-again-off-again lover (whether or not the lass had the courage to admit it or not yet), who just so happened to be his damn irritating brother.

_Well, isn't this fucking fantastic._

Sulking at this flash of horrid timing, the immature Mikaelson's shoulders slumped childishly as though posing a fit, but for once he remained strangely tact on the whole silence front.

Bonnie's doing, no doubt. Though even her _whirlwinds_ of scoldings (and there had been one, given how there was bits of popcorn and tinsel everywhere) couldn't stop the near psychotic man from casting a look of sharp-faced death at the one he blamed as the sole root of all his current problems.

Caroline freaking Forbes, who might not have been so bad save his bastard brother's obsession.

It was always _Caroline this _and_ Caroline that;_ Kol swore to the gods he did not give a hoot about that if he heard that damned dolly-bird's name rolling off Klaus's lips one more time, he'd likely snap that sole thread of sanity he had left.

It was sheer torture to be giving the rundown on how perfect her damn nails (_seriously mate, her nails!? You poor, poor bastard. A right blimey goner_) were, or how adorable she was when slewing insults.

_Insults_.

His brother was seriously sick and twisted; mentally deranged. It was the only feasible explanation for his unhealthy obsession with that doll ... What did they call her? Ah, right._Barbie_.

Of course, Kol didn't spare so much as a single thought to how much of a hypocrite this made him, completely ready to defend what he felt for Bonnie as _entirely_ different.

Blinking as it dawned on him that the others had grown silent, Kol could only glare at all their expectant faces, before — with an irritated sigh — Bonnie patiently repeated her friend's question.

"She asked if we were hungry, and for once _Klaus and I_ agree." Bonnie cocked her head, stressing the rarity in that situation, before twisting her features to one side expectantly, subtle in its threat of slightly narrowed eyes that he better cooperate. _Or else_. "It would be best if we eat."

"Well that entirely depends," Kol proclaimed, arrogant in his need to burrow under everyone's skin and nest there like a cancerous sore. "Is _human_ on the menu?"

"_Kol!_" Both Bonnie and Caroline yelled in irritated unison, the latter with her hands on her hips and the former with arms tightly crossed across her bust, both stances screaming don't-even-think-about-it as much as they dripped sheer annoyance. Blimey, even their expressions bloody matched, each wearing the look of a clear _seriously Kol_.

Naturally, the vainest Mikaelson of the lot looked toward his older brother for back-up, but Klaus just shrugged and gave him a stern you'd-better-do-as-they-say-if-you-know-what's-good-for-you glare; _bloody typical_. The traitorous bastard was on their side!

"Blasted traitor!" He shouted, rage inciting as fingers curled, knuckling into white-digit fists.

Sensing his irritation – she was a Servant of Nature, after all – Bonnie huffed out a sigh and diplomatically crossed to him, brushing the crumbs of a kernel crushed in his violent method of threading strings through popcorn off the shoulder of his sports jacket, before playfully tugging him by the zipper to come hither. "Please Kol. Unlike you, I actually need food to have the energy to …" She trailed off, leaving her silence suggestive and for him to fill in the blanks.

* * *

After insulting Caroline, the only female Mikaelson stalked victoriously back to the kitchen, where she'd already wasted half the day getting the main course ready.

If one could call making a complete and utter mess of things _ready_.

Now, with flour in her hair and just about everywhere else, Rebekah was in quite a state as she furiously whipped the half-mashed potatoes awkwardly clutched against her chest, infuriated by the little hard chunks that refused to smooth out. How the blazes did human women do this with their measly strength? Why didn't they make the big, burly men do it?

For that matter, why the hell was she – a _Mikaelson_ – doing this? Weren't there blood bags for this sort of work, the phlegm Elijah was always reminding her to respectfully call Servants? _Staff_, _hah! What rubbish!_ How convenient of Elijah to forget they didn't exactly _pay _them.

Compulsion was a beautiful thing. Too bad that neat little trick wouldn't get her out of this bind.

"Make a dinner and everyone will like you, Rebekah. Beat her at her own blasted game, Rebekah, and _then_ they will all surely see how inferior that drug-store bleached idiot is compared to you. Just look it up online; that's what everyone does these days, Rebekah. It will be easy, Rebekah. You've got this, Rebekah," she stated in a sarcastically high pitch, intentionally sounding like a mocking diva.

Insecurity was quite the bitch.

As if this verbal berating wasn't enough, Rebekah was also mentally chiding herself for this utter show of short-sightedness.

_Why do you go to so much trouble to get attention from those that don't care? Clearly they all love that blimey Barbie 2.0 better then you. Except maybe Kol but he's got that bloody Bennett Witch. Look at you, being all jealous over such inferior creatures. Why is that, Rebekah? Afraid nobody will ever pick you? Afraid you'll never live? Never Love? You pathetic creature._

Moments later, the red bowl of potatoes mashed so well it was a gloopy soup was thrown violently with a scream that lasted until it crashed against the wall and exploded into bits of red plastic and liquid potato that notably seemed to get on everything.

_That blonde bitch better not be right. _Rebekah huffed before shaking out a mane of platinum hair that caused a cloud of flour to billow out, childishly refusing to admit that it was at all possible she was wrong.

Apparently, whipping an all-out Holiday dinner out of one's metaphorical arse was easier said than done.

At least it had certainly been easy blurting out that she could handle it, _no problem_, when that irksomely infantile baby Vampire had asserted it was above her skill-level.

_Hah! Like anything is above my ability!_

Normally, the upper class bitch was all too enthralled to compel anyone and everyone to do her dirty work – unless of course, by dirty you meant breaking bones or draining blood. But she'd been so insulted over the insinuation that she _couldn't _that it had become her sole focus to blow this task out of the damn water.

And she'd insisted with the most vulgar of clarity that, in fact, she was more than capable, and could do it just fine on her own.

Which had been all said and good, until she attempted the first few steps in the cookbook. Oh sure, like she was supposed to know the difference between julienned and chopped, or that the bird needed to be thawed out first. A conclusion she'd reached quickly enough, after even her Vampiric strength had failed to get a knife through the frozen turkey.

But it wasn't until the horrendous odor of burning tickled a sensitive nose that Rebekah began to panic. "Oh drat!" The damn bird was on fire! She flew to oven, stubbing her toe on the way and letting out a curse not at the pain – hah, she was an Original, thank you kindly – but at behaving like such a klutz.

Thank god nobody was around to see that.

Thinking that oven mitts were for the weak, Rebekah stuck her hands right in and yanked out the searing hot tray, hissing as the flesh burned but stubbornly persisting until the whole blumming disaster was dropped in the sink and doused with water.

When the smoke cleared, it revealed the damn thing to be burnt to a crisp.

Blood was _so_ much easier.

"This is a pointless, completely redundant human chore." Especially when she could just compel one of the _staff _to do it and claim it had all been her, _Rebekah_. Gloating in satisfaction over this new plan, Rebekah tore off her horribly tacky candy cane-covered apron and threw it with a fit on the counter, before swerving on an aggravated heel and storming out of the kitchen.

She had much better things to do than this!

Besides, it was going to piss that blonde bitch off, and if you asked Rebekah, that would make the whole quitting thing that much sweeter.

* * *

"Klaus!" Tone demanding, grabby hands snatched at the clipboard he held backwards, at arms-length, as he flashed the wickedest of jolly smiles. "Give it back! I'm serious!" Caroline huffed, pushing out her chest but try as she might to maintain a firm grip on her anger, all that damn resolve was cracking.

That boyish grin he brandished like a sure-toothed weapon certainly wasn't helping.

Helping her, that is – it was certainly working like a charm for him.

_Bastard_.

"Stop it!" She'd grown desperate enough to use her bossy tone, implying her irritation – and more importantly the fact she'd keep holding out on him if he didn't start cooperating, like _now_ – "Niklaus! Don't make me force you into pink for the family portraits!" She hollered, knowing full well this was seriously the best threat when dealing with Mr. Knows-All-About-Being-The-Bad-Guy. "You know I _will_." Caroline tacked on as a call to immediate action.

Kol caught onto the mention of the dreaded activity and scowled darkly at the thought of sharing attention with his entire family – and that yappering blonde he was seriously going to have to convince his fur-faced brother to drop like a hunter.

"What?! _Family_ portraits!?" He got out, tone distinguished with horror, before turning smug as he twisted the statement. "Why should I have to share a frame with you peasants? Can't we just photograph _me_?" Okay, so maybe he'd share the spotlight with the witch ... Maybe.

He certainly would if she was naked.

Alas, Kol had difficultly imaging the little Bennett as so immodest.

Pity _that_, considering that tight little body of hers was so worth documenting, if nothing else for his sake – now that was a present he felt like he deserved!

Caroline stared at Kol in utter horror, as though capable of reading his mind, before twisting a now desperate gaze up at Klaus, eyes silently pleading that he right this messed up situation this instant! He seemed to catch her drift, and like the gentleman he was _unnaturally_ behaving as (when he wasn't teasing her over _the list)_ made an instant move to right it.

The only way he really ever knew how.

By threatening his narcissist of a sibling; what, where you expecting something else?

"Considering only one person in this room can stand that mug of yours, brother, I believe the odds are in favor of that being a horrend -" He began, before Kol interjected, with features so snarky it was a surprise he hadn't stuck out his tongue.

"_Two._" Kol snaked a possessive arm around Bonnie, tugging his little witch against the burrow of his chest. "You've forgotte -" This time, Klaus cut his twat of a brother off.

"I was already counting you, Kol." Klaus shot back, falling naturally in the game the brothers were next to infamous for, where their bickering banter often went from best buddies to lethal enemies on the flip of a metaphorical bloody hat.

Or word, as the case might be. More often than not, that was what set them off.

"Enough!" Rebekah shot, appearing from down the hall with an irritated scowl and the look of disdain dripping from every inch of her expression. "You all are acting like bloody peasants. Quit that rubbish this instant."

The Queen Bee was always trying to reaffirm her position, at the top, and now was no different as she tossed that curt little nose up in the air and tried to act indifferent to the fact that she was not merely the third, but the fifth wheel.

What bollocks was that?!

"She's right," Caroline agreed, muttering the rest under her breath "_for once_." She felt a hand on her arm and knew immediately that it was Klaus trying to calm her down, and so she flashed him a sharp I-am-calm glare before continuing. "Maybe not about the peasants thing, but we're supposed to be acting jolly! This isn't the Christmas spirit!"

So with that, Caroline clapped her hands together and smiled warmly toward Rebekah. "On that note, let us eat and be merry!" She was already winding her arm tightly about the Alpha's elbow, ignoring his potent scent that always made her knees wobble. "Shall we?" She asserted before casting Rebekah another sly glance. "I take it dinner is served?"

Rebekah laughed, flipping back a wave of silken blonde hair and sauntering casually into the room. "Oh, right, _dinner_," she said flippantly, like it hardly mattered and shrugged an indifferent pair of haughty shoulders. "About that." Bending down to scoop up some abandoned tinsel from the floor, Rebekah proceeded to wrap it around her neck like a feather boa. "It's so redundant, don't you think? I mean, we're v_ampires._" Rebekah shot a dirty look toward Bonnie at that, her expression malice. "_Most_ of us anyway."

She raised her eyebrows high then, the inner bitch in full swing as she shrugged again and crossed the room to fling herself back into the leather armchair, arms sprawled like a boss across the top of the cushions. "I got bored," she smirked then, strangely satisfied to see the ire spring to life in the other blondie's eyes. "So sue me." Rebekah was strangely pleased with herself and sat as smug as a cat; she certainly acted as catty as one. "That's what you _whippersnappers_ say these days, isn't it?"

Infuriated, Caroline finally tore her clipboard back out of Klaus's hands, gaining the upper-hand only because he was as shocked as the rest of them at Rebekah's unexpected outburst. Frantically Caroline flipped through the pages of notes and schedules, trying to find a solution where none at all lay, positively exuding desperation.

Something Klaus didn't miss at all, and he flashed Rebekah a look that could kill – or would have had mere looks been so capable – even as he tried to soothe her with a gentle caress placed above the blade of her left shoulder. "Now, now, love, easy does it." He murmured, against her ear, swindling closer so his breath came out in hot bursts against the back of neck, and for just a moment - so bittersweet - he imagined that it was just the two of them there.

Why did he have to open his home to his delirious siblings?

It was times like this that he contemplated if it would have been better just to keep them all daggered.

She shivered, like expected, and the wolfish man couldn't help but smirk, snaking an arm around her waist. But Caroline was having none of that and swatted it just as quickly away – which in retrospect was probably her first mistake, biting that Original hand that protects.

But Klaus was determined to cool her fire and earnestly tried again, tone calm, gentle, as if trying to sooth her with the silk of his accent. "Sweetheart let's just put those twinkling bobbly-things on that tree you dragged me gallivanting all over the blasted city to find, that same one you had me cut down and carry all the way here-" Caroline spun on her heel, head tilted in titillating anger as pupils dilated and then snapped tightly in anger, index finger in the air and waggling at him like he should have known better.

"No! No! No! No, you can't just go and change the order of these things! There's a specific order for a reason. It's not just random, you know, and the whole point is totally ruined if we just go and break the freaking order! Why do you think I keep referring to that list? That took weeks to compile, I'll have you know, and if we mess up the schedule by even one thing, then it throws everything out of whack!" At some point during this rant, she'd started pacing, frustration boiling to all new heights as her hands waved about, thrust high in the air.

Kol, for his part, nuzzled against Bonnie's neck and whispered suggestively in her ear. "Why don't be sneak out while they're bickering and go and have our own fun, hmm?" His eyes blazed with desire, lips quirked smugly at the thought of undressing her out of that oversized sweater. "Don't make a fellow beg." But frankly, the truth was he'd do anything to get out of this. Klaus's crazy bitch was starting to out-psycho him, and besides, her whiny bossy tone was giving him a metaphorical smoldering headache.

"First, it was your hybrids and now this!" She shot Rebekah a sharp, death defying look, chalk full of personal blame. "What do you guys even know about Christmas anyway!? For being, like, a billion, you really need to get out more! Or get with the times! Ugh – Bonnie, tell them!" Caroline suddenly said, throwing the attention quite suddenly onto her friend who'd gone tactfully quiet; either that or she was trying to reign in her emotions before this whole place got set afire. You never could quite tell with witches.

Or maybe she was simply horrified by all the theatrics. Caroline and Rebekah weren't exactly known for being subtle.

"Care-bare, I know this is important to you but maybe we could be a little more flexible?" Bonnie tried, brow knitting hopefully as she gave a sort of maybe-please shrug and over cute smile. "I mean-"

Caroline cut her off, outraged that her bested best friend would turn her back on her. "Not you too! Don't any of you want a perfect Christmas?! Huh!?" Caroline spat, furious and growing red in the face. Again, Klaus tried to calm her by gently reaching out, and again Caroline slapped his hand away, this time with the end of her clipboard. "No!"

Huffing so sharply her nose whistled, Caroline stormed directly toward Rebekah, pausing only long enough to shoot Bonnie and Kol a traitorous look, before whirling to take on the other blonde, intending for it only to be verbal; in hindsight, this would have been the second big no-no.

"And you! I knew you couldn't cook. Why volunteer for something you lack the ability to do? Are you trying to sabotage this holiday for everyone!? Come on, Rebekah. I know you're a bitch, but this is low, even for you!" Caroline glared, eyes narrowing into thin little slits as the posh snob was redirected onto her unfortunate scapegoat.

It was easy to blame this hoity-toity Original whore for all her problems, and Caroline felt quite proud, bolstering that attitude of I-told-you-so, an edge only Elijah could get away with when it came to Rebekah. "And is that flour in your hair!?" For a second, her anger vanished to be replaced by a brief flash of curiosity.

Rebekah, to her remarkable credit, had remained _mostly_ composed and calm under the reign of insults hustled her direction, and she showed a rare card of patience as she suffered through the verbal assault. Perhaps it was merely due to the stiff, choking glare that Klaus delivered her way.

But that comment about the flour snapped her last nerve, and she launched at Caroline without an ounce of regret, screeching as their bodies clashed and hitting the younger vamp with enough force to knock her back, where they rolled about like a couple of uncivilized children, yanking on hair and all but spitting in each other's faces.

Kol laughed and Klaus raged, until the latter lunged forward and twisted the former's arm right round, growling darkly into Kol's ear. "If anything happens to either of them, I'm blaming you." By their typical sub-standard of threats, it was entirely sub-par, but enough of a kick in the shin to urge Kol into helping Klaus detangle the two kicking and screaming women, prying them apart much to pain in the metaphorical ass and literal face that was, given both Barbie vamps elbowed backward into the faces or chests of the Mikaelson boy that grabbed them. Each more determined than the other to break away from their bodyguard's hold with the sort of unrelenting will like those girls on Jerry Springer who learned their supposedly perfect boyfriend was guilty of cheating.

All in all, this had resulted in quite the commotion, and one that only got worse as Bonnie's energy grew, and all those bits and pieces of decorations that littered the floor from her earlier flare up again took to the air and swirled this way and that, only adding to the entirely crazy festivities.

"Rebekah, I swear to god, I will dagger you again if you don't release her this minute!" Klaus hissed, hating to resort to that threat but her insufferable attitude had left him little choice. Unfortunately, this only added fuel to his sister's anger, who - as he should have expected - only latched onto this as proof of their affections concerning Caroline.

"You chose her again!? Over me!? I hate you! All of you!" Rebekah screamed, changing her target from the other blonde to Klaus. "I hate you Nik. I hate you!"

In a surge of power, Rebekah threw Kol over her head, until he crashed against the couch, free now to launch herself at Klaus, fists slamming against his chest in rage. "Do it then! I dare you. If you hate me so much, than look me in the face and dagger me!"

"_Enough!_"

Elijah's voice bellowed out, loud and echoing, completely dismayed at what he saw and just stood there looking all-together disappointed, shocked still by their ridiculous antics as this single cutting word reverberated around the room until all five occupants, the four vampires and the witch, froze, surprised into obedient statutes.

He'd always had that presence of total authority when he chose to so wield it.

"Just what exactly is going on here?" Elijah continued in that scolding, parental tone and gazed at each one of them in turn with a look of expectation. He sighed then and ran a hand through his silky locks. In all the commotion, he'd nearly forgotten what had him seek out his siblings in the first place.

"Whatever it is, you'd do best to patch things up quick as we've got bigger problems."

* * *

**AUTHORS' NOTES**: So what did you think of the introduction of Rebekah? How about Elijah? Don't worry, there're still plenty of cute Klaroline and Kennett moments to come, including the actual dinner, the set-up of the tree, and Christmas Eve/Christmas Day itself! Hell, if you're really lucky, maybe we'll even throw in a bonus chapter related to New Years. Any guesses as to what the bigger problem is? Here's a hint; it's been briefly foreshadowed. Bonus points to anyone who gets it!


	4. Winter Wonderland

**Deck the Falls**

Chapter Four: Winter Wonderland

* * *

Chaos abounded in the form of broken furniture, tangled limbs, and unnecessary screaming. Elijah, who always prided himself on his ability to remain calm, cool, and collected in even the most aggravating of situations, stared in stoic disappointment at Rebekah, fully aware of her tendency to rile others into a frenzy of rage. She met his gaze head-on, a challenge in her eyes. But he refused to rise to it—that was what she wanted, after all—and instead shifted his attention to where Niklaus stood with his arms wrapped firmly around Caroline, striving to soothe his infuriated, slightly trembling guest; her anger was so palpable that Elijah could practically sense it in the air as it wrapped around him in a cocoon of intense negativity, determined in its pursuit of conquest as it endeavored to suffocate the calmness he naturally, stubbornly clung to—even when he was on the verge of snapping that last thread to his sanity.

"Explain yourself," Klaus demanded as he held Caroline practically anchored to his side in an attempt to keep her from lunging for Rebekah yet again. "What problems?" It was a known fact that when Elijah gave voice to his concerns, they were usually the sort to ruin a man's evening. At Caroline's sudden tenseness, he lightly trailed his fingers through the long, beautiful blonde locks he often found himself imagining spread out against the backdrop of his bed, a sensual delight to his visual senses. He couldn't wait to get her alone.

Elijah, to his credit, wasted little time in gesturing toward the window, a glistening curtain of snow covering the window and concealing the rest of the world from their eyes, giving off the impression of peaceful solitude, but remained silent in expectation of their questions.

As predicted, Kol was the first to mock his concerns—this was perhaps the only occasion where his intentions could, in fact, be predicted at all. Smirking, he cast Elijah a look positively brimming with arrogance, under the assumption the older Mikaelson might have finally lost it. The poor, old fool; he supposed it was bound to happen sooner or later. "It's just a little snow, Elijah. Rest assured it won't bite you. Not unless witchy here decided to play her dirty, witchy games." He gave Bonnie a pat on that delightful rump of hers, to which she gasped and shot him a glare, as though appalled by that brief display of affection and his rather insensitive words—but she wasn't fooling him. He made a habit out of studying womens' lips, and hers had that adorable, little quirk to them that pegged her for the pretender she was.

"I would ask you to look again, but given your … nature, I'm quite certain you would fail to grasp the severity of the situation," Elijah murmured, regally calm in the face of Kol's disparagement.

"Then perhaps you should enlighten _me_," Klaus interjected, a hint of impatience in his tone. He was weary of playing these mind games and only sought a night of unrestrained passion with his chosen companion. The fact that she had yet to truly give in wasn't of any importance, as he was more than confident in his powers of persuasion and knew they were quite capable of getting the job done. Eventually, when he succeeded in getting her alone—which, admittedly, was proving the hardest obstacle to overcome by far.

Elijah stifled the urge to sigh at their ignorance. "The snow has been enchanted."

Momentarily distracted, Caroline shared a confused frown with Bonnie, whose gaze had honed in on the snow-curtained window the moment the words had escaped the Original's mouth. "Yes, Elijah. The snow is very enchanting," she said, puzzled, but glowered at Klaus when he chuckled at her response, clearly amused. "What?" She snapped.

"He means we're caught in the middle of a hailstorm of magic," he supplied dutifully, lips curving at the expression of affront he glimpsed in her narrowed, baby blue orbs.

Of course she'd known that. How could she not, given the constricting feeling that as of yet had failed to diminish completely in the wake of the snowstorm? But she'd been far too busy overseeing the decorations and arguing with his hybrids and siblings to take note of it. As had Bonnie, apparently, for when everyone turned in unison to stare at her, she held her arms aloft, as though to ward off their accusations, and shook her head. "Hey, it's not me."

Disbelief hung heavy in the air, and though she struggled not to give into the urge to give them all aneurysms for not believing her, Bonnie harrumphed and turned to face the partially bare Christmas tree—just one more thing to add to Caroline's ever growing list of tasks that still needed to be taken care of. "Just because I happen to be the only witch in the room—"

"Try town," Rebekah interrupted with a sneer, not as forgiving of the situation as her blonde counterpart. "Whatever it is you intend to do, I suggest you desist with your ridiculous plans immediately; unless you would prefer I force you to." She shrugged indifferently. "I rather fancy the notion of introducing your face to the wall. Several times should do it, I believe."

Growling low in her throat, Caroline made to take a threatening step forward, only to find Klaus's arm in the way. With an irritated huff, she gave the thick, muscular appendage a slap to emphasis her distaste for being restrained. "Damn it, Klaus. You heard what she said."

Before he could answer, however, Bonnie's voice sounded, as calm as Elijah's. "You can try."

Naturally, Rebekah took that as a challenge, but as she moved to do exactly that, Kol suddenly snatched Bonnie up by the waist and though the room began to shake as she locked eyes with Rebekah, he hastened for the stairway, using the incident as an excuse to spirit her away—as he'd wanted to do from the start. Anything to get out of doing whatever that damnable baby vampire ordered him to do, and since his own brother refused to side with him, the traitorous bastard, the best course of action would be simply to ignore her. Unfortunately, he'd never been very good at doing what was best for anyone, least of all himself and especially not if the alternative was inciting a Barbie riot.

"Hey!" Caroline shouted after Kol's swiftly departing back, brows pulled low over eyes that fairly sparked with impatience and irritation. "Get back here! Klaus!" She whirled on the hybrid then, hands planted firmly on her hips as she regarded him with vexation. "Go get your brother!" She made sure to fill that demand with all the haughtiness of a princess hell-bent on having her coronation.

"Ah, love, how I wish I could obey your every command," he murmured, sounding positively contrite, but upon peering closer at his carefully banked, expressionless face, it wasn't long before she noticed the mischievous gleam in his eyes. Ugh! Again with the amusement! Why couldn't he, just this once, take her seriously? Lips pursed, Caroline flicked a pointed glare toward the staircase, determination dogging her heels like some pesky hybrid—who admittedly looked great in that expensive, black, leather jacket he wore pretty much all the freaking time.

"But this time, I'm afraid I'll have to insist we let them go."

Strange words. She'd certainly never expected to hear them from _him_. Yet they did nothing but further fuel the fires of her obsessive need to fix what was left of the evening and set things aright. No blizzard from hell was going to keep her from making this the best damn Christmas the Mikaelsons had ever had the fortune to experience. By its end, she fully expected a thank you card. "Are you freaking _kidding _me?! This was supposed to be the perfect Christmas, Klaus! But you don't even seem to—"

But Klaus, having heard enough, moved with a swiftness that had her words grounding to an abrupt halt. Startled to find herself on the receiving end of a hot, passionate kiss that fairly took her breath away—good thing breathing wasn't much of a requirement anymore—she lifted her arms to wrap them around his neck, forgetting for the moment where she was and why she'd instigated an argument with him in the first place.

"Oh, get a room," Rebekah said snidely and rolled her eyes, wondering if perhaps what she was sensing was a vampire's equivalent of a retching human. Surely that was nausea churning in her stomach? Lip curled derisively as she strode toward the entrance foyer, she was forced to pause when Elijah placed a hand upon her arm. "Don't tell me I'm forbidden from leaving, Elijah," she warned, refusing to entertain the thought of having to listen to her brothers go at it throughout the evening. What a repulsive thought.

Elijah frowned. "Leaving is out of the question, Rebekah. We have a rather large problem on our hands, if you recall."

"If you refer to the snow, then allow me to make a suggestion of my own," she returned promptly, a cold smile pulling at the corners of her lips. "Separate the witch from Kol and force her to counter the enchantment with one of her own. Simple enough, wouldn't you agree?" Her smile turned a shade gleeful, as though delighted by the thought of causing Bonnie pain. Her brother couldn't possibly be _that_ attached to the witch.

"I doubt the situation calls for such drastic measures."

"Then what does? Perhaps we should wait to see what this enemy has planned before acting upon our suspicions. Oh, but by that point, it would already be too late to do anything about it. A wonderful plan, really. I applaud the sheer brilliance of it." She clapped her hands in a derisive fashion, expecting at the very least to receive an acknowledgment of her bratty behavior but upon seeing his unconcerned look—it was so bloody typical of Elijah—she threw her hands up in exasperation and barely bit back a growl. "Unbelievable!" Scowling, she fixed him with a _you'll-be-sorry_ glare for having the audacity to ignore a perfectly sound plan in favor of doing nothing. "I'll be in my room until this whole travesty of a holiday is over!" With that, she stormed off, heading in the direction of the stairway, all the while holding fast to her determination not to glance over at Nik, who was likely still _sucking face _with that second-rate, infinitely duller version of her. To think that people actually had the nerve to compare them, and quite frequently. Talk about ridiculous.

But Caroline was far too focused on shoving Klaus away to notice the look of disgust Rebekah flashed her way as she strode toward the stairway.

With a groan, Caroline pressed the flat of her palm against his chest and pushed, waiting until she'd captured his attention before pulling away, chin canted at a stubborn angle. "None of that," she muttered, trying her damnedest not to let this male affect her, to no avail. He'd succeeded in burrowing so far beneath her skin that it would take a sledgehammer to force him out. "You're going about this the wrong way!" She snapped out in a rush, easily recalling the feel of his lips pressed against hers, moving at a steady pace as they sought to drive her wild with need for the promise of tomorrow his mere presence afforded her. The man was obsessed with travel, obviously. It wouldn't have surprised her in the least if he'd subscribed to the travel channel. "No more kissing unless there's a mistletoe present!"

"Mistletoe?" Klaus eyed her curiously. "You would have a plant dictate our more … intimate pursuits? That doesn't sound very sensible to me, sweetheart."

"It's tradition," Caroline replied with a shrug, but then mentally berated herself for taking the time to explain anything to this … lunkhead. She still had _so _much to do. "You know what? Never mind." Without waiting for a response, she spun on her heels and headed toward the kitchen. Maybe she'd be able to salvage what was left of the meal Rebekah had most likely destroyed in her fit of rage. Honestly; these Mikaelsons never learned. They were like fully grown children in need of a firm hand and discipline—_a lot _of discipline, with scoldings, time-outs, and everything. She doubted they'd respond well to that, though.

_No_, she thought to herself. _They'd probably rip out the heart of anyone who tried_. Her lips twitched. Originals, in time-out. Now _there_ was a thought.

* * *

"What is _wrong _with you?" Bonnie demanded as soon as her feet touched the floor and hastily moved to put distance between them, staring daggers at his unrepentant face. In response, he flashed a wickedly amused grin at her fierce demeanor, tracking her every movement with his eyes. "Don't look at me like that, Kol Mikaelson. I need to figure out a counter-spell to the one this unknown witch has cast. Who knows what she means to do?"

"And I could care less." He advanced on her slowly, head angled to give off the impression of a predator on the hunt, an intense air about him as his gaze roved her features appreciatively. "I promised not to tear your annoying, little friend limb-from-limb, and so far I've managed to ignore the urge to do just that, so I believe you owe me."

Bonnie frowned at the indifferent tone of his voice; his utter disregard for life was unnerving. "While I'm happy you haven't decided to kill Caroline, I still have much work to do," she pointed out, watching for his reaction. Kol was unpredictable, if nothing else. Strange how even with his unpredictability she couldn't exactly admit to being afraid of him; more than anything, she was … apprehensive of the things he could do.

"Do you?" He murmured, inching even closer, nearly to the point that they were touching—until she found herself struck between a rock and a hard place. Back pressed against the wall of his bedroom, with nowhere to go should he act upon the intentions she so easily glimpsed in the dark, lust-filled expression in his eyes, she crossed her arms and boldly held his gaze, fully prepared to challenge him if that was the only way to make her point. It simply wasn't in her blood to back down. "Look, give me an hour—tops—to figure this out. And after that … the time is yours."

"To do as I please. With you naturally," he tacked onto the end of her sentence, intensity bleeding into his deep, sulky baritone as he stared down into her slightly upturned face.

She sighed, already suspecting what he had in mind. "Fine. Do we have a deal?"

He was silent for a moment as he considered her proposition. "Only if we seal it first." But just as it dawned on her what he implied with his words, he struck without warning, his lips crashing against hers before she could so much as blink. Deep. Hard. Passionate. It was a kiss she knew would be damn difficult to shake off if only to prove how meaningless it should have been—and then she promptly forgot why she'd tried her hardest to keep him at a distance as his taste all but exploded in her mouth while that woodsy, masculine scent of his teased her senses, calling forth the primitive heart of her own beast.

"Yes, my bonny-witch," he husked against her parted lips, giving their creases a playful lick. "We have a deal."

Words had never sounded so ominous before.

* * *

**AUTHORS' NOTES**: So, what did you guys think? Did we manage to surprise you with their problem? And if not, then you lovelies are simply too smart for your own good. In any case, all reviews are welcomed and encouraged! Trust me when I say D and I absolutely adore them. And once again, thank you for your patience. I hope this chapter was well worth the wait. xDDD.


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